


When Flowers Bloom

by UnluckyCharms



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: But I was determined to write fluff, Haru's also in it, I needed my platonic Yuki/Haru relationship, I watched way too many disney movies for inspiration, THEY DESERVE IT, Yuki doesn't know how to emotion properly, especially after watching ep 9, even if it's not my strong point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 03:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19287109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckyCharms/pseuds/UnluckyCharms
Summary: Yuki Sohma enjoys peace and quiet.  His secret base had always been a place he'd been able to find just that and today is no different.  That is until a certain cat and riceball plan an unexpected visit.-------------Based on the prompt "Flowers" from a 30 day challenge.





	When Flowers Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> This little one-shot is the product of watching one too many Disney movies while high on cold meds. I do apologize for any odd grammatical or spelling errors; I tried to proofread it once or twice, but I'm messed up on meds so that means close to nothing haha. I also apologize if it reads a little clunky. This just started out as a little 2000 word exercise, but I went in and added more to it (obviously).

Things were peaceful; they typically were when he was hidden away in his own little secret garden. The many stupid things he’d thought about and dreaded over became trivial and meaningless here. Every time the ground gave way to the little trowel puncturing the cool dirt, his shoulders relaxed more and more until contentment and peace filled his entire being. Every last weed he cleared from the soil acted as a negative thought being pushed to the back of his mind, contently losing himself in the light, fuzzy feeling of unfiltered, concentrated peacefulness. This was the one and only place he could say, that despite whatever chaos was running rampant in the outside world, he could feel safe and happy. This was one of the only times he could say he was at peace. At peace with his living situation, at peace with the curse, at peace with his childhood, at peace with his life. Yuki was happy.

The sudden vibration of his phone ringing against his thigh made him jump a bit. Yuki tried not to lose himself too much while out in his garden, but the soft sounds of the world around him and the solitary nature of the forest always won over him. He’d never admit he was prone to spacing out to anyone. The household only needed one airhead and Tohru more than filled that position. The rat quickly packed the soil around his new raspberry bush before he even thought about picking his phone up. After, Yuki patted his pants a few times to remove any excess soil and peeled one glove off to reach in his pocket and pull out the offending device. It wasn’t that he was worried about dirtying his phone, but trying to unlock that stupid device or answer a call was near impossible in his gardening gloves.

“Good morning, Miss Honda.” Yuki said. The girl on the other end sounded awake, but slightly concerned. It was troubling for the rat to hear that, to say the least. “Is anything the matter?”

Yuki could feel Tohru’s response caused his brows to knit together in confusion. “I’m at the secret base, I left a note for you at the table. Did you not get it?”

There was a pause on the brunette’s part, the heavily muffled voices of Shigure giggling and Kyou hissing at the dog in the background could just barely be heard on the other end of the line. Everything started making sense now. 

Those voices sent reality crashing back into the rat like a freight train. His eye instinctively began twitching. This was his sanctuary, and he sure as hell didn’t want those filthy intruders invading his happy place. With those two, came reality. With reality, came dark thoughts.

“I apologize on behalf of those two morons for making you worry about me, Miss Honda. I’ll be sure to slide a note under your door next time.” Yuki replied with a tired sigh. His grip tightened around the trowel until his knuckles would be white if not for the glove hiding his free hand, less than gently or peacefully stabbing at the unbroken soil.

The rat jumped once more and tore the phone from his ear when Tohru began blurting out apologies. That girl knew how to peek a receiver when she was concerned. Her apologies were really garbled nonsense as she hurriedly searched for something to apologize for. It was something along the lines of “I'm sorry! Kyou and Shigure aren't morons, they just forgot to tell me is all! I'm sorry for worrying you, or making you think I was in danger at all! I just wanted to know if you were gonna be here for breakfast, I swear! I didn't realize you'd be at your base so early!”. There was some more filler, but Yuki had learned to omit those pieces of information.

“There's no need to apologize. Really. I'm still working on getting some new plants taken care of so I won't make it for breakfast, but I'll be home by two for sure.” Yuki said. He grit his teeth when heavy footsteps could be heard storming up to the brunette and a fist slamming against the speaker button before that unforgettable voice of the cat came booming through the receiver. 

“what did that girly boy just call me?! You can tell rat-boy to go to hell! I'll kick his ass when he gets home, so he better plan on camping out at that stupid little garden of his!”

“Tell that _moronic_ cat that I might be slightly unnerved by his comment if he were actually able to kick my ass.” the rat retorted, voice thick with animosity. 

“That's it! Take a break from that girly hobby of yours, and come fight me! Right now! Unless you're too scared, rat-boy.” Kyou challenged. Yuki groan inwardly for even snapping back.

“I have much better things to do with my time, than waste it on you. Miss Honda, please excuse me, but I'm cutting our conversation off here. I'll see you at home.” Yuki gave a roll of the eyes, not even waiting for a reply to hang up; that was the exact type of stressor he tried to keep out of his base, not a chance in hell he'd let up now.

He took a few moments to collect himself. Whenever he got angry and emotional, he always found it more difficult to focus, and almost impossible to organize and manage what still needed to be done. Though he’d rather die than admit it, the damn, idiotic cat knew exactly how to push his buttons; it wasn't anything he said per se, he just knew the exact way to say it to really get on the rat's nerves. He wasn't going to give into his anger though. Sure, it was a more difficult task than usual because he was in his safe space when the cat so rudely decided to interrupt him, but this was a tame conversation. If he were to fly off the handle at the smallest remarks, he'd be no better than Kyou. He was above that, above him. So, in a few deep breaths, Yuki shoved his emotions back down where he thought they belonged.

Time seemed to fly by then. Before he’d even noticed the passing of time, noon had rolled by, bringing forth the brunt of midsummer’s heat. As much as he wanted to continue, and blow through the rest of the planting, Yuki took note of just how parched he was becoming and decided it best to take a quick water break. It was rather pathetic just how easily he could drown out his basic human needs for hours on end. This was a prime example of why others were not allowed here with him; if someone were to tag along, they may take Yuki for some hopeless, air-headed idiot, too distracted to even function properly on his own. Maybe that’s who he really was under his facade. It was entirely possible, it had been so long since he’d just been himself after all. It wasn’t worth much thought though. This side of him was far too contradictory to everything he’d built up and claimed, there was no way he would be showing anyone this side of him anytime soon.

It took a few moments for his legs to wake up. Yuki didn’t even realize it, but at some point, kneeling so much had put his legs to sleep. He was just glad he’d learned better than to jump to his feet like he’d just been crouching for only a moment or two. The first time this had happened he’d been much older than he’d like to admit to and far more stupid than he’d ever admit to. He decided all he had to do was stretch it out and he’d be capable of just powering through the numbness, vaguely remembering reading something along those lines in one of Hatori’s health magazines he always had splayed out on his desk. He must’ve read wrong. He could barely get both feet on the ground before his equilibrium shifted, sending him crashing into the newly planted pepper plants. Very few survived. Shigure thought him shuffling home dejectedly, covered from head to toe in dirt was hilarious at least. Just reliving the memory made Yuki grimace. He made sure to take his time. The rat shifted back onto the grass besides his garden and stretched out each long limb a few times, not daring to move to his feet until he could finally feel his toes wriggling in his shoes. Once to his feet, the sore rat knuckled at the quick of his back and stretched one last time. He really needed to get better at assigning stretch breaks if he were going to kneel for that long.

Yuki strided lazily towards a large tree shading a good part of the meadow. That was his usual spot he dropped off anything that he wouldn’t need immediately like his book bag containing water and snacks, a jacket if it were cool out, or a parasol in especially hot summers. It was extremely girly, yes, and he’d take that secret about him to the grave, but he didn’t tan. That seemed like a better alternative than burning to death. 

Plopping down against the trunk unceremoniously, Yuki gave a small sigh of relief. He hadn’t even realized how hot he was getting until he was hidden away in the pleasant shelter the tree’s shadow provided. Without wasting another moment, the bottle of water was cracked open. The rat downed a good half of it with ease, his free hand reaching up to slick his bangs out of his face. That had to be the worst thing about his hobby, just how sticky, sweaty, and dirt covered he seemed to always get working out under the sun. He always hated feeling uncleanly. 

Something suddenly touching his leg drew his attention. What he found was a small rat sat there, staring up at him with big, beady eyes. The smallest hint of a smile twitched onto Yuki's face as he met his friend’s gaze. The small animal watched intently, its whiskers twitching as it looked on, intrigued, as the teen reached back into his book bag to pull out a small baggie of trail mix. Yuki picked out an almond and slowly extended his hand towards his ankles where his company sat. Its nose wrinkled a few times as it smelt the air before slowly advancing towards the scent. Its whiskers tickled as they continued their feather-light touches up the teen’s leg, but he bit down the small, breathless chuckles that wanted to bubble up; any sudden movements would scare the little rat away. Eventually his little companion had crawled up to his hand and apprehensively took the treat offered to it. It was only then that Yuki ever so carefully moved his hand back to his book bag to grab a handful of granola for himself. The two ate in comfortable silence, basking in the cool summer breeze. 

Their feast lasted only a few more minutes before his little companion was scampering off into the meadow once again. He didn’t know why, but sadness twinged within him as he watched the little rat scurry away from him. Why was he so emotional today? It wasn’t like him to get overly angry at Kyou for no reason, or have to hold back laughter, or want to cry over virtually nothing. His emotions were usually locked away deep inside him, the key being thrown away years ago. Why were they all seeping through now? It must just be spending so much time in the comfort of his garden. That was the excuse he’d go with anyways; it was probably something to look into before a decade’s worth of pent up emotions came pouring out, but he’d push that to the back of his mind for now.

Whiskers tickling at his calf again snapped his attention back down where his little companion rested with a wildflower trapped in its mouth. It waited for Yuki to snap out of his shocked trance and take the flower before it hurried back into the meadow. Violet hues stared in amazement at the gift in his hand. Before he could even comprehend or question the idea of rodents understanding the concept of generosity, small paws pressed against his legs again. This time there were two rats, each with a flower in their mouth. An amazed scoff passed Yuki's parted lips as he carefully collected the flowers and made a small bouquet with the three he’d been gifted. Just like before, the two rodents hurried back into the meadow. What in the world was happening right now? Had he fallen asleep? A pinch to his wrist quickly disproved that theory. All this just because he’d shared his snacks with a rat. His hand reached back into his book bag and took out a notebook. He gently placed it on the ground next to him as to not scare away his company and poured out a small pile of mixed nuts onto it and filled the cap to his bottle with water for them to drink from. He wasn’t really that hungry anyways.

This time when his little companion made its presence known, there was a small group of rats all with flowers in their mouths. Stunned once again, Yuki collected the flowers. This time around, some went immediately back into the meadow while some stayed back and nibbled at Yuki’s offerings. This was all so unreal. In his seventeen years as the rat zodiac, not once had he experienced something like this. In trying to comprehend what was happening, his hands began absentmindedly weaving the flowers together in the beginnings of a crown. 

The last time he’d done something as childish as make flower crowns must’ve been years ago. Seven, maybe? Had it really been that long since he was allowed to be a child? Yuki shook his head to dismiss his thoughts. So what if he couldn’t understand exactly what was going on, he might as well just enjoy being in the moment of childlike wonder. 

This little assembly line continued until Yuki had made the crown to his liking. The moment it was placed on his head, the small army of rats seemed to stop and stare at the teen for a few moments before running off to continue whatever it was they were doing before being recruited to help build the crown. All except one. Yuki simply guessed this was the first one he’d interacted with, but he couldn't be certain since they did all look very similar after all. It timidly scampered over to the teen with one last flower in its mouth. Delicate looking hands carefully took the last little wildflower from his companion and tucked it behind his ear. He couldn’t help, but smile fondly down at the little rodent. It squeaked in response.

“Thank you.” Yuki murmured softly, finger gently running down the rat’s head. Once more, the rat squeaked in recognition, surprisingly not shying away from his touch.

On a sudden whim, Yuki dropped his hand to the ground and opened his palm. As if understanding the gesture, the little rat crawled onto his hand. It didn’t even flinch when Yuki drew his hand closer to his face so he could finally get a good look at his companion. His free hand gently pet the rodent down its body as it looked contentedly at him. Yuki couldn’t help, but return the peaceful gaze. Deep down he knew it was just feeding off his calm energy, but it was fun nonetheless to think that maybe it was another human cursed to live as a rat. 

Since when could his mind imagine such childish thoughts? For the second time that day, Yuki didn’t mind not knowing the answer to his question. He simply let his mind run wild. If they were a person, what gender would they be? What would they look like? What would their personality be like? Would they like him once they started talking to him?

In the midst of his thoughts, he felt his friend curl up on his hand as it began to doze off. Yuki almost couldn’t believe it. This had to have been the most peaceful the forest had been since he’d first began his garden here. It was so incredibly quiet, it was close to lulling Yuki to sleep too. A small nap couldn’t hurt, he was up way earlier than he was used to anyways.

\--------

Yuki played with the hem of his yukata somewhat awkwardly, covering himself properly once he was positioned comfortably in front of the window in his cage. It was one of the rare occurrences he was looking forward to seeing someone run up to his room, that unforgettable head of snow white hair racing towards him with the biggest of smiles plastered on his features prevalent in his mind. For as long as he could remember, Yuki would sit there, in front of the window for hours on end, staring out longingly at all those free to enter and leave the estate as they pleased. He thought constantly about how he’d like to join them. When he was very young and naive, he truly believed it was because of how feeble he was that confined him to this cage. He wasn’t that dumb now. The rat had always been clever, as the folktale told. Yuki knew Akito viewed him like a toy, some prize to be hidden away from the public eye in fear of someone else taking him away. He was a bird trapped in a cage. His wings had been clipped. He could still dream though. Yuki longed to go play with the kids his own age, to feel the wind tousle his hair as he got caught up in games of tag, to feel crisp, fresh air fill his lungs, to run as far away from the Sohma estate as he could and never look back. This line of thinking constantly plagued his mind. Which is why it was so surprising for Yuki to feel hope and joy bubble up from deep within him as he watched the same old scenery. It was all thanks to the nicest boy he’d ever met. For the past few months now, a young boy around his age had been stopping by to see him whenever he possibly could without getting caught. There were a few close calls, but the ox was stubborn (or possibly foolish), that wasn’t going to deter them from seeing each other.

Like everyone else he’d met, their first encounter started out rough.

It was one of the few times he was allowed outside his room. It was under Hatori’s supervision of course, but it was still an event to look forward to. Hatori usually gave him a pretty long leash as long as Yuki wasn’t causing a scene. When he was free from his cage, Yuki loved to watch the many ponds the littered the estate. Watching the koi fish dance gracefully with one another always soothed his nerves. He wished he could live like them. Blissfully unaware of just how trapped and helpless they really were. 

He was resting against one of the bridges, lazily watching the fish beneath him, trying to ignore the eyes of the young doctor casually flickering over to keep tabs on him. It was peaceful as ever. Until there was a harsh voice screaming at him. 

“I hate you! The rat used the ox! The rat’s a dirty cheater! It’s your fault people make fun of me! It’s your fault I’m stupid!” the voice was abrasive and filled with hate, their eyes burning holes into the back of the rat’s head.

Yuki timidly shot a questioning look the doctor’s way. Hatori simply gave a nod and looked away again, taking a drag from his cigarette. It wasn’t a look for help, he simply needed to know he had permission to speak with the mystery boy. He was all too used to the members of the zodiac hating him. This was just something he’d already had to learn to live with. It was all part of his punishment in some sick, twisted way.

“But are you? Are you really stupid?”

“N-No. No, I’m not stupid…”

Those words rang through his head. It was a bittersweet memory to think back on. Yuki was beyond grateful that Haru had accepted his apology on the rat’s behalf. Those he’d met before him, besides Hatori, weren’t too keen to forgive him so easily; the worst by far being his fated meeting with the cat. He had felt so isolated and rejected by the family he’d made himself believe it was for the best if he was alone. Now, he couldn’t possibly imagine not having someone like Haru there for him. He hoped the eagerness to see each other again was mutual. He hoped he wasn’t viewed to be burdensome by the ox since he was rarely let loose from his prison. He hoped Haru wouldn’t learn to resent the rat again because god forbid Akito found out they had been seeing one another and saw it fit to punish them. Most of all, Yuki was absolutely terrified Haru would start to think he was using him again, just like it was told in the folktale. All the greedy rat did was ask and ask for so much, and every last whim, the selfless ox gave to him and more. He was truly such a selfish child. Why had such a nice person wanted to be friends with such a bad person like him in the first place? Didn’t he know he’d only get hurt if he stuck around the cursed rat for too long? Yuki didn’t want that. He couldn’t possibly live with himself if his friend was hurt because of him.

“Yuki!” the ox’s cheery voice broke him free from his previous train of thought.

The mentioned rat jumped from the window and reached behind one of the satin pillows adorning the small couch in his room. He retrieved a small, silver key. Yuki did have a very spacious patio along an entire wall of his room, but it was always locked from the outside to prevent him from running away. If it wasn’t obvious, he wasn’t supposed to have this; one day Haru had just showed up with it, never telling him how he got hold of it. Yuki was grateful regardless. This one tiny trinket made him feel like he could almost be free.

Shaking his head to dismiss anymore thoughts swarming into his head, the tiny rat returned to the window and handed the key to Haru as had become tradition. With practiced ease, the ox jumped up to his patio and approached the door. He’d caught a brief glimpse of the dragon watching him from his office across the way, but Haru wasn’t concerned. They’d learned early on that Hatori kept their secret, going so far as to give them a warning or distract their god if Akito was to return earlier than expected. Before another moment passed, Haru unlocked the patio. 

Their gazes finally met as Yuki cautiously stepped out of the dark room. His features almost instantly softened as the ox let him get adjusted with going against their God once again; no matter how long they would go through this routine, Yuki would always start out terrified of getting caught. Haru set a large shopping bag he’d been carrying onto the hardwood and pulled his friend into a loose hug. Yuki always started out stiff and uncomfortable, but the more he hugged him, the sooner the rat would relax and even begin to return his embrace. The large paper bag crinkled against the ox’s leg when he finally decided to release his grip on the frail form of the rat. Curiosity the sound elicited influenced giant violets to flicker down towards the bag in hopes of catching a glimpse of what Haru had planned for them. The second he was caught trying to take a peek, the bag was lifted and it was drawn away from him. 

“Uh-Uh, it’s a surprise.” Haru said, voice light and playful with the biggest of grins on his features.

“A… Surprise?” Yuki tilted his head to the side with an odd look.

“A good surprise. Pinkie promise,” Haru began sincerely, his grin softening. He always tended to forget Yuki wasn’t one for surprises. He could take a guess as to why since Rin was the only other child he knew that was uncomfortable with surprises, but he didn’t want to make assumptions without knowing anything and it just seemed like such a touchy subject to bring up unprompted. Yuki would open up to him eventually, it’d just take patience. “See? Look.”

And with that, the bag was presented to his friend.

“Flowers?” the rat rose a brow when he finally peered into the large bag filled with various flowers.

“Yeah! Momiji taught me how to make flower crowns and I thought it would be fun to teach you how.” the ox smiled proudly.

“That sounds fun… I’d like that…” Yuki gave a timid smile, eyes flickering to stare up at the tan form in front of him as they both settled on the ground.

After a quick lesson, the two began quietly working at their crowns. When they had first started hanging out, the silence unnerved Haru, but after putting it in his head that he just needed to treat Yuki like Rin, he could fall into a comfortable silence. Granted, he still did pipe up when a thought or idea crossed his mind; he rarely ever got a response, but he didn’t expect one. It was actually one of the many things he enjoyed about Yuki’s company. He felt like, if he needed to, he could talk about anything without being judged or ridiculed.

“I’m no good at this…” Yuki mumbled dejectedly, usually unwavering voice hinting at tears and frustration.

The head of white snapped up from his crown to look at the small rat trying to desperately weave a couple flowers together. Whenever he’d get them loosely woven, they’d immediately unravel in his hands. Haru watched as Yuki began rapidly blinking away the tears that were trying to spill over and stream down his cheeks. That was when the ox quickly dropped everything he’d been working on and scooted closer to the rat to grip one of Yuki’s hands, his other moving to swipe away any tears that managed to squeak their way out onto his cheek. A fond smile reached his features when the rat leaned into his hand.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be good at this yet. I know you’ll be great at it if you try hard enough! Because you’re you. You’re just good at everything. Maybe not right away, but you’ll be good at it.” the ox comforted. He felt Yuki tighten his grip on his hand.

“Really?” Yuki squeaked out. His voice sounded so unsure and meek, it nearly broke Haru’s heart.

“Really Really. Pinkie promise.” Haru confirmed. He cautiously moved to lace their pinkies together and tightly latch on for emphasis.

After Yuki was calmed back down, the pair went back to quietly working at their respective crowns. They chatted every once in awhile when thoughts came up, seamlessly falling into their previous rhythm. This was actually one of the first times he’d heard Yuki laugh without holding back. That fact alone made the ox’s smile widen as they finished their crowns at their own pace.

“Here! I made it for you. See, I made it with the purple and white flowers. They reminded me of you even at the store.” Haru presented his gift proudly.

Yuki’s eyes widened in complete surprise as the crown was presented to him. He wasn’t accustomed to people thinking about him, let alone thinking about him enough to make him a gift. After the initial shock finally dwindled down a bit, Yuki graciously took the crown from his friend and awkwardly positioned it in his hair.

“How does it look?”  
\-------- 

“If you didn’t know where his damn garden was, why’d you even think this was a good idea?!” 

That one voice shattered the peace around him, like it was nothing more than a glass pane hanging over his head. His friend jolted awake and scurried deep into the meadow, leaving Yuki alone again. That stupid, bumbling cat! Oh, was Yuki going to make him pay for stepping foot near his safe space, for destroying the peace he’d been enveloped in so effortlessly, for making his friend run away. In one elegant movement, the teen was up from the ground and storming towards where he’d heard that cat’s voice.

“Miss Honda, what are you doing here?” Yuki asked as stunned violets stared down into wide chestnuts. Her gaze was much like a child’s would be if they got caught in the middle of something they knew they weren’t supposed to be doing. A big, brown picnic basket was nestled in her elbow, and that bumbling idiot of a cousin was holding a large, tan blanket from home 

“Ah! Yuki! You see, I thought it would be nice to all have lunch together! I-I didn’t want you to skip another meal… And we haven’t had a picnic since our last trip to the lake house! I thought it may be fun. We can eat, then after we can help you finish up with the gardening!” Tohru rambled, clasping her hands together with an innocent grin.

“Hey! Don’t go signin’ me up for shit I didn’t agree to!” Kyou blustered. 

“I’m not sure what help that moron could provide anyways. I appreciate the sentiment regardless, but I’ll be fine, Miss Honda.” Yuki dismissed both of his unexpected guests curtly. 

This was the only place he had to himself, there was no way he was going to let them in that easily. If it was just Tohru, it would’ve been one thing, but she stupidly hadn’t thought twice about dragging his rival along to his secret base. It was a total invasion of privacy in his mind. A full-blown, malicious attack on his well being. In reality it was just Tohru trying to be kind, too innocent to understand the ramifications of bringing Kyou along with her. Yuki knew this, but he wasn’t willing to see things for what they really were at the moment. Without another word, the rat spun on his heels, heading away from the group as quickly as he could. Did he know exactly where he was going? No. Did he care? No, anywhere away from Kyou would’ve been an improvement. 

“Y’know what, rat-boy, you can be a real asshole when you wanna be! Do you think I wanna be here having a tea party and makin' those stupid flower crowns at your damn, girly garden? No, but I’m putting up with it to make Tohru happy! All you’re provin’ right now is that you’re a selfish prick!” Kyou erupted. He strode right into the boundaries of Yuki’s safe space and clamped onto his rival’s wrist before that idiot could run away. “Is that all you’re good at? Runnin’ away? Things get tough or uncomfortable and all you can think to do is run?” he finished.

Yuki’s blood went cold. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when his wrist was tightly tugged on. This was not supposed to be happening. Kyou was not supposed to be in his secret base, he wasn’t supposed to be on the verge of a breakdown, he wasn’t supposed to be this selfish. The words Kyou screamed at him didn’t just crawl under his skin, they may as well have ripped his skin off and seeped into his tissue directly. Yuki spun back around to harshly glare at the teen restraining him. 

“Let go of me this instant.” Yuki hissed out a harsh warning, his voice low and dark. His face was red for the first time in awhile as anger took over his body.

At first Kyou was grinning smugly at his rival. It was clear he’d struck a nerve hidden deep within the rat; at long last, he had the upper hand in their argument. He was stupid to play it so cocky. Not once had he gotten Yuki this worked up, he had absolutely no clue what he was going to be up against. Immediately after Yuki had practically growled out his warning, the grin dropped from the cat’s tanned features. That was the most threatening he’d ever sounded in the entirety of their rivalry and it honestly scared Kyou enough to cautiously let his hand fall back to his side

Yuki wanted to be angry. Every last fiber in his being was telling him to be furious. This was the one place he thought he could go to escape his reality. He kept trying to tell himself that it still was, but It was really difficult to keep that mentality as he held a staring contest with the tall cat. Yuki was literally forcing himself to stare reality in the face and he hated every last moment of it. He was fully ready to lunge at that bastard and beat him to a bloody pulp.

“Oh no! Yuki! Your face is so red! Did you get a sunburn today? Are you coming down with a cold?!” Tohru quickly squeaked before rushing passed Kyou to press her hand against Yuki’s forehead.

Any chance of anger was instantaneously sapped from the rat’s gaze. Tohru was just so innocent. There was absolutely no way he could remain angry, not with such naive, concerned chestnut hues watching him for any signs of illness. All Yuki could think to do was relax his posture and stand awkwardly in front of the pair.

“Ah, no. I was just a bit flustered is all. I’m quite alright, Miss Honda.” Yuki couldn’t stop himself from letting the faintest of smiles etch onto his features. He was lucky Tohru interfered when she did, he surely would’ve done something he’d regret after his anger subsided if she didn’t stop him. He was lucky he had someone like Tohru.

“Oh, well, I’m glad you’re not feeling ill. I. I guess we’ll leave you to finish your gardening then. There will be lunch for you when you get home.” Tohru gave a sad smile, slowly slinking out of the garden. 

Kyou gave one more glare Yuki’s way before following after the brunette. Guilt filled his chest as he watched the pair walk away from him. Violets could only stare in bewilderment as he questioned why he felt this bad. He got what he wanted, the intruders were leaving his safe space, so why did it feel so wrong? It must’ve been what Kyou told him that got him thinking along these lines. Damn that stupidly intuitive cat! Before he could really comprehend or go over the pros and cons, Yuki took a few steps towards to pair in futile attempts to close the gap. 

“Wait! Miss Honda! Since you’re already here… I guess I could go for lunch. Why don’t we have that picnic.” Yuki offered sheepishly, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

Tohru jumped in shock and twirled to stare at her friend with a surprised look. She didn’t expect that quick change of heart from him, she’d thought she’d damaged their relationship, if not ruined it completely and that Yuki would need space to calm down, but there he was, wanting her to stay. Yuki looked so uncomfortable and shy, yet still so beautiful. Tohru would never dare to call him beautiful out loud since the rat had relayed to her many times that he disliked people referring to him as such, but no other word seemed to do his looks justice. 

She was spacing out again. Kyou nudged her and she jolted out of her head.

“Ah, Yeah! I’d be happy to, Yuki!” Tohru grinned, skipping back towards her friend. He wasn’t angry with her after all, she was so relieved. 

 

Kyou awkwardly followed her back towards his rival with an irritated sigh. All he had to do was not open his damn mouth and he could’ve been back home, enjoying an afternoon without that damn rat around. Why did Tohru have to look so upset? This was all her fault. Because of that airhead, here he was, fumbling with the blanket as he tried to lay it flat in an open patch of grass. 

As much as he hated to admit it, Yuki was also partially at fault as well. That idiot just had acted so out of character. There was a certain level of animosity and coldness in his voice that wasn’t typically there when they argued. Whenever they did argue and fight at home, Yuki had this smug, condescending tone of voice he’d use that hinted that he thought this was all just some sick game. Nothing like that was present here. It was just pure anger. There were many things revealed by this change in mood, but there were two prevalent in Kyou’s head. One, something he had said got under Yuki’s skin to the point of drawing out this level of hatred, and two, this bastard had been going easy on him for the past few years!

“Even inanimate objects are beating you now-a-days, are they?” Yuki antagonized, that smug look returning to his features.

This is what Kyou got for actually trying to worry about that damn rat. Now, he was completely back to his douchey ways like nothing had happened in the first place. Just when he started to think he might be understanding Yuki just a little bit, the rat had to make it painfully clear they were still practically strangers living under the same roof.

“Go to Hell!”

“Already there,” Yuki quipped, a smirk now tugging at his lips. He was always quite proud of his quick wit.

“I’m not losing! Tohru just thought it’d be a good idea to have a picnic in the middle of a damn wind storm!” Kyou blustered, even more frantically trying to get the blanket laid flat. He was having even less luck now that he was getting worked up.

“I’d hardly call a slight breeze, a wind storm.”

“I swear to god, I’ll kick you off the nearest cliff!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

 

In the end it was Tohru to straighten out the blanket. Kyou grumbled about how the wind must’ve died down when she tried and the trio all gathered as Tohru began setting things up for lunch. Despite Yuki’s assumptions about how the meal would go, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Sure, that stupid cat would have to make snide remarks every once in awhile, but even they subsided as the forest worked its magic and lulled everyone into a sense of security and comfort. 

Lunch passed by without incident. The three now lounged on the fleece blanket, letting their stomachs settle from their filling meal. This gave Yuki some time to think over today's events. To his surprise, after the initial shock, things fell back into normalcy. It was almost like they belonged there in the safety of his little garden. Tohru and even Kyou didn’t feel out of place there. In fact, Yuki could almost get used to them being there. Sure, it’d take a long while before he felt comfortable with them entering his space whenever they felt like it. He certainly would still need to take things slowly and there will definitely be times he’d need to be alone from everyone, but with time, he could see himself gradually letting them in his area without making a big deal out of it. He feared this idea would’ve been detrimental to his well being, but he was happy to be proven wrong for once. In fact, things had gone so well, Yuki dared to think they may just be able to help him grow. What Kyou had told him was true. When things got hard, all he was capable of doing was running away. Life would get rough and Yuki would run away to the safety of his secret base. He didn’t want to run anymore. Yuki wanted to be able to stare problems straight in the face with no fear and, with enough help from those around him, he just might be able to finally blossom

“Now that we’ve all eaten, do you wanna finish up the gardening?” Tohru chirped. She finally decided to start packing the basket back up.

“I suppose we could, if you don’t mind.” Yuki replied after a small pause. He shifted his gaze from the sky to smile at the brunette.

“C’mon then! We need to show Kyou what to do!” the girl laughed, gripping both her friends by their arms and tried her hardest to drag them up from the ground.

“I thought I told you, I wasn’t gonna help with something as stupid as gardening!” Kyou snapped, weakly fighting against her.

“Just try it, you might like it.” Tohru urged cheerily, finally “pulling” the pair to their feet.

“Fine! You got five minutes to impress me!” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and storming over to the garden plot.

Tohru followed shortly after. Yuki took this moment alone to watch the pair kneeling around his garden, bantering with one another in a playful fashion. He didn’t really understand how he got stuck in this position, but he didn’t mind not knowing. For now at least. Yuki would just follow what he’d been doing all day, take what he did know and roll with the punches. What he did know, was that the afternoon was surprisingly fun and he was grateful to have such great friends.

“Hey, Yuki, what’re you waiting for?” Tohru called with an over-exaggerated wave.

“Yeah, you better not be spacing out! I can’t be responsible for babysitting two airheads!” Kyou teased in his typical brash, abrasive tone.

With that, Yuki gave a small nod and strode over towards his friends. Why did he have a rising suspicion this was going to take way longer than if he were to just finish up alone?


End file.
